News about Faculty & Staff

Alum Inspires ‘Future of Paramedic Education’

An on-the-job photo of Christopher T. Boyer, an alumnus and director of Penn College’s paramedic technology program, accompanies an article in the magazine of Wilmington University (another of his alma maters).

Christopher T. Boyer, director of Penn College’s paramedic technology program, is featured in the summer issue of WilmU, the magazine of Wilmington University. Boyer received a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Wilmington in 2017 and is a 2003 graduate of Penn College with an associate degree in paramedic technology. The article highlights Boyer’s vision for the future of paramedic education, “to train highly skilled technicians who not only understand theory but are able to make wise life-and-death decisions under pressure.” It also discusses Boyer’s doctoral research, which finds that paramedic students who have used high-fidelity patient simulators require 19 percent fewer patient contacts to fully demonstrate mastery of their skills. Penn College uses such patient simulators in its paramedic and nursing programs.

Employee Presents Research at Nursing Education Conference

Jessica L. Bower

A staff member in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s nursing program recently presented her doctoral research at the Nursing Education Research Conference in Washington, D.C.

Jessica L. Bower, simulation lab coordinator in Penn College’s nursing program, earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from ­Wilkes University. During a poster session at NERC, she presented her research: “Differences in Debriefing Practices in Nursing Education: Instructor-Led and Peer-Led.”

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Penn College Savors the Kentucky Derby

Follow Penn College culinary students as they experience the 2018 Kentucky Derby as key members of the Levy Restaurants team. Twenty-eight students and 10 alumni spent five long, fulfilling days cooking for thousands of patrons at the prestigious clubs and suites overlooking iconic Churchill Downs. The one-of-a-kind experience at the renowned event is a valuable component of the students’ culinary education. “I don’t think anyone can understand how much food – and how high of a quality the food is – without actually seeing it and being here in the dining room looking at it,” culinary arts and systems student Bridget M. Callahan says in a 16-minute documentary added to the college’s YouTube channel. “It’s a lot of work during the week, but once you walk out there, it’s pretty awesome.”

Penn College Welcomes New Employees

PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.

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Automotive Instructors Return to Campus for Conference

Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour welcomes NACAT members to their organization's 45th annual conference, again held at the home of one of America's longest continuous automotive programs.

A veteran of many NACAT conferences, Dale E. Jaenke (left) – soon to retire after 22 years on the college's automotive faculty – talks with council President Patrick Brown-Harrison.

More than 200 NACAT members, convening in Penn's Inn for Monday's business meeting, hear from Walter V. Gower, assistant dean of transportation and natural resources technologies.

Keynoter Brennan discusses several interlocking developments regarding autonomous vehicles, "any one of which would be the most profound change in the automotive field in the last century."

For the third time in its history, Penn College is hosting the annual conference of the North American Council of Automotive Teachers. Returning to the 1998 and 2008 site of their organization’s official get-together, more than 200 NACAT members from across the United States and Canada began arriving Sunday for the four-day event. During their stay, participants will have their pick among more than 110 informative and topical sessions; a variety of family activities and evening diversions will supplement each day’s instruction. Monday’s opening included a campus welcome, elections, committee reports and a keynote address by Sean Brennan, a professor in Penn State’s College of Engineering. Watch PCToday for more.

Visitors Get Eyeful on Aptly Named ‘Summer Preview Day’

Admissions Counselor Lee A. Dawson provides an overview of life at Penn College during a welcome session in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium.

Chef Mary G. Trometter, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, shows families around the kitchens where students prepare fine food for Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.

Michelle D. Karchik, a student ambassador and physician assistant student from Clarence, leads a group on a tour of campus.

Christopher H. Van Stavoren, assistant professor, talks with families about the ins and outs of the college’s automotive technology majors.

Penn College welcomed nearly 100 potential students and their guests Friday for the season’s second Summer Preview Day. The visitors explored instructional labs; enjoyed campus and housing tours; and connected with Admissions, Student Activities, Athletics, Financial Aid and other resources. The final Summer Preview Day will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28.

Member of College’s Construction Faculty Attends D.C. Symposium

Levon A. Whitmyer

An instructor of building construction technology was among the participants at a recent Residential Construction Professors Symposium in the nation’s capital, gaining perspective on relevant industry topics and exemplifying the practicality of a Pennsylvania College of Technology education.

Levon A. Whitmyer joined counterparts from Michigan State, LSU, Kennesaw State, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the University of North Florida – all of which, like Penn College, are recipients of Homebuilding Education Leadership Program grants from the National Association of Home Builders.

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Culinary Arts Faculty Presents Session for Consumer Science Group

Chef Paul Mach

A member of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s hospitality faculty recently presented a session at the Pennsylvania Association of Family & Consumer Sciences annual conference in Scranton.

Chef Paul Mach, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, offered two sessions to the association’s members, providing tips for teaching about – and cooking with – a large variety of grains and dried legumes. The well-attended sessions included samples, recipes and other handouts, and a demonstration. Among grains featured in the recipes are quinoa, kamut and black forbidden rice.

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In Any Medium, Campers’ Artistry is Well-Done

A camper delights in her clay creation: an elephant-inspired bee house. When complete, campers can place their bee houses outside their homes to enhance bee habitat.

Penn College art studios offer welcoming space for artistic expression and exploration. Here, a young camper adds finishing touches to his creation in a printmaking workshop.

For outdoor fun, Varner adds detergent to a camper’s wet felting project that incorporates wool roving.

A tie-dye T-shirt complements a tie-dye wool ball, which was later transformed into a felted bowl.

In a needle felting session, a camper crafts a Brachiosaurus.

Creative spirits soared this week at Penn College’s Creative Art Camp, held Monday through Thursday, in the Bush Campus Center art studios. About 30 campers, entering fourth through seventh grades, explored a wide range of media and crafted objects from clay bee houses to felted bowls and animals. The day camp, coordinated by Penny Griffin Lutz, director of The Gallery at Penn College, featured three local artists/art educators as camp instructors: Deborah L. Stabley, adjunct art faculty, Penn College; Andrea McDonough Varner, art educator, Williamsport Area High School; and Holley Fuller, a 2018 art education graduate of Lycoming College.

Penn College’s 32nd Golf Classic Boosts Scholarship Assistance

Dan Boever leaves ‘em laughing during an exhibition at the Penn College Foundation’s recent 32nd Annual Golf Classic, which benefits student scholarships.

A return appearance by one of the most popular performers on the exhibition circuit helped propel the Penn College Foundation’s 32nd Annual Golf Classic into the record books.

The recent event, headlined for the second consecutive time by golf entertainer Dan Boever, was the most successful in its history – topping $100,000 in scholarship support. Compass Group North America was the title sponsor for the tournament, the net proceeds of which benefit the Penn College Foundation Golf Classic Scholarship.

Boever’s talents are contagiously crowd-pleasing, drawing respectful laughter for the proficiency required to make difficult trick shots look so easy.

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College Represented in Craft Beer Film to Be Shown Locally

"Poured in Pennsylvania"“Poured in Pennsylvania,” a documentary that explores the commonwealth’s thriving craft beer industry, will be screened Friday, July 27 – the eve of The Billtown Brewfest in downtown Williamsport. The film features Timothy L. Yarrington, instructor of brewing and fermentation science at Penn College, and is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. in the Michael Ross Center at Trade & Transit Centre II (144 W. Third St.). From America’s oldest brewery to taprooms popping up in small towns, GK Visual’s film follows Pennsylvania’s storied beer past, delves into recent growth and aims to capture the full tale of the beer industry in The Keystone State. Filmed throughout 2017 from Philadelphia to Erie, “Poured in Pennsylvania” visits breweries old and new, large and small … and a few that are still on the path to opening. Sponsored by the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, Penn College and Straub Brewery, the free showing is limited to the first 240 people who register online. Penn College will staff a table at the Pine Square event from noon-7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, greeting alumni and sharing information about the college and its brewing and fermentation science major. Using the “PCTBrewfest” code when registering will reduce the ticket to $30 ($10 off).

Penn College Welcomes New Employees

PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.

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Director of Construction Projects Named at Penn College

Jason K. Bogle

Pennsylvania College of Technology has hired Jason K. Bogle as director of construction projects/construction manager.

Bogle comes to Penn College from Lobar Inc., Dillsburg, where he had been a construction project manager since 2007.

A Penn College alumnus, Bogle earned an associate degree in civil engineering technology in 2006. He also studied agronomy and environmental sciences at Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture (now Delaware Valley University).

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Attendees Add to Toolkit at Heavy-Gauge Thermoforming Workshop

Program manager Christopher J. Gagliano (left) conducts a laboratory session in the Plastics Innovation & Resource Center's Thermoforming Center of Excellence.

The Plastics Innovation & Resource Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology recently hosted 11 industry professionals from six states for its Ninth Annual National Hands-On Heavy-Gauge/Sheet-Fed Thermoforming Workshop.

The three-day program featured presentations from renowned experts and hands-on instruction in forming, trimming, assembly, techniques, materials, tooling, diagnostics, and machine maintenance and safety.

“The PIRC provides a unique opportunity to present both theory and practice in heavy-gauge thermoforming by allowing the participants to use their classroom instruction on a state-of-the-art former,” said keynoter James “Jay” M. Waddell, from Plastics Concepts & Innovations LLC. “Participants were able to use multiple forming techniques and learned how to adjust the equipment to achieve the best results.”

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Penn College Welcomes New Employees

PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University